Industrial electronics was the second fastest-growing semiconductor market after automotive in 2011, and chip maker Texas Instruments is once again leading the pack in the sector’s sales.
TI boosted its market share in the fast-growing industrial electronics sector with its purchase of National Semiconductor late last year, achieving $2.2 billion in revenue from the industrial electronics chip space—a 25% increase over 2010, according to new research from industry analyst IHS isuppli. In a new report released this week, IHS said TI’s market share in the space climbed 7% in 2011, up from 6% in 2010.
Industrial electronics includes such disparate areas as manufacturing and process automation, test and measurement, medical electronics, building and home control, energy generation and distribution, and military and civil aerospace. The space outgrew more attention-getting markets such as consumer electronics, wireless and computers, thanks in large part to companies’ increasing move toward energy-efficient processes and greater demand for semiconductors that deliver those functions, IHS analyst Robbie Galoso said.
The industrial electronics chip market grew 9% in 2011—much faster than the 1% growth in the overall semiconductor space—and is projected to moderate to 8% growth this year due to uncertain economic conditions in Europe and slowing manufacturing in China, Galoso added.
TI owes its revenue boost in the sector to its third-quarter purchase of National Semiconductor, which added $446 million to the company’s bottom line for industrial electronics, said IHS analyst Jacobo Carrasco-Heres.
“Without the buyout, TI’s revenue growth would have been flat,” he said.
Prior to the acquisition, National Semiconductor was the No. 2 supplier of light-emitting diode (LED) driver integrated circuits, behind TI; the acquisition strengthened TI’s dominance in the area. TI was also the No. 1 supplier last year in manufacturing and process automation, and medical electronics; second in energy generation and distribution; and third in the test and measurement as well as building and home control areas. The company had bolstered offerings in general-purpose analog integrated circuits, such as amplifiers, voltage regulators, data converters and interface, especially after the National Semiconductor purchase, IHS said.
TI and nine other companies had combined revenues of $13 billion in the industrial electronics semiconductor space, representing about 42% of the $31 billion market. The other companies include Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Intel, Analog Devices, Mitsubishi, Maxim, Renesas, NXP, and Xilinx.
